Iranian Photography: 165 Years of History and Contemporary Practice
In the November 2009 issue of Art Press, Anahita Ghabaian Etehadieh examines the trajectory of Iranian photography, beginning in 1844 and extending to the period following the 2009 elections. Notable exhibitions in Paris feature Photoquai at Musée du Quai Branly (22 Sept–22 Nov), Paris Photo at Carrousel du Louvre (19–22 Nov), and 'Iran 1979–2009: Between Hope and Chaos' at Monnaie de Paris (6 Nov–20 Dec). The article outlines the development of photography from the Nasseri period, through Reza Shah Pahlavi's modernization efforts, the flourishing of artistic photography during the 1960s and 70s, the 1979 revolution, and the crackdown after June 2009. Prominent photographers mentioned include Bahman Jalali, Fereydoun Ave, Abbas Kiarostami, Shadi Ghadirian, and Shirin Neshat, with contemporary photography reflecting both aesthetic and ethical resistance.
Key facts
- Photography arrived in Iran around 1844, with Malek Ghasem Mirza possibly preceding Jules Richard's daguerreotypes.
- Nassereddin Shah Ghajar was an amateur photographer; his albums of harem women are kept at Golestan Palace.
- Reza Shah Pahlavi's reforms (1925) spurred studio photography for Western-dressed families.
- In the 1960s–70s, Ahmad Aali fostered artistic photography; new galleries and a contemporary art museum opened in Tehran.
- Key 1960s–70s photographers: Kaveh Golestan, Bahman Jalali, Yahya Dehghanpour.
- The 1979 revolution and Iran-Iraq war elevated Iranian photojournalists to international levels; Bahman Jalali's 'Days of Blood, Days of Fire' was banned after second edition.
- President Khatami's tenure (1997–2005) eased censorship and encouraged a more personal, aesthetic photography.
- Post-June 2009 elections, foreign journalists expelled; 'citizen photographers' emerged using internet.
- Bahman Jalali's work includes photomontages and systematic photography of ancient Iranian cities.
- Shadi Ghadirian's series juxtapose Ghajar-era women with modern items like Pepsi cans.
- Hamid Severy warns of lack of art theory education; Bahman Jalali sees this as enabling uninhibited creativity.
- Paris exhibitions in autumn 2009: Photoquai, Paris Photo, Monnaie de Paris.
Entities
Artists
- Anahita Ghabaian Etehadieh
- Nassereddin Shah Ghajar
- Jules Richard
- Malek Ghasem Mirza
- Carlian
- Bahman Jalali
- Reza Shah Pahlavi
- Ahmad Aali
- Kaveh Golestan
- Yahya Dehghanpour
- Reza Deghati
- Mahmoud Kalari
- Kaveh Kazemi
- Alfred Yaghoubzadeh
- Mohammad Sayyad
- Abbas
- Mishket Krifa
- Seifollah Samadian
- Fereydoun Ave
- Abbas Kiarostami
- Sadegh Tirafkan
- Rana Javadi
- Shadi Ghadirian
- Ghazel
- Mehran Mohajer
- Shirin Neshat
- Mohammad Ghazali
- Mehrdad Naraghi
- Arash Fayez
- Rodin Hamidi
- Amirali Ghasemi
- Arash Hanaei
- Shokoufeh Alisdousti
- Peyman Houshmandzade
- Hassan Sarbakhshian
- Javad Montazeri
- Mehdi Ghasemi
- Omid Salehi
- Mehdi Monem
- Hamid Severy
- Catherine David
- Rula Halawani
- Taysir Batniji
- Emily Jacir
- Larissa Sansour
- Marc Riboud
- Roxane B.
- Zohreh Soleimani
- Alexandra Boulat
- Hicham Benohoud
- Atiq Rahimi
- Michael Kenna
- August Sander
- Rose Issa
- Nassereddin Shah
Institutions
- Art Press
- Photoquai
- Musée du Quai Branly
- Paris Photo
- Carrousel du Louvre
- Monnaie de Paris
- Golestan Palace
- Espace Electra
- Silk Road Gallery
- Magnum
- Fondation arabe pour l'image
- Institut du monde arabe
- Espace Polka
- HSBC France
- Galerie Baudoin Lebon
- Galerie Jérôme de Noirmont
- Galerie VU
- Magnum Gallery
- Hatje Cantz
- BnF
- Fondation Henri-Cartier Bresson
- MEP
- Centre Pompidou
- Musée du quai Branly
- Golestan Palace Museum
- Institut du Monde Arabe
- art press
Locations
- Iran
- Paris
- France
- Tehran
- Yazd
- Bouchehr
- New York
- Beirut
- Damascus
- Cairo
- Tangier
- Dubai
- Kazakhstan
- Japan
- Indonesia
- Central America
- South America
- Marrakech
- Kinshasa
- Kassel
- Europe
- Arab world
- North Africa